Trip Report I ESCAPED!!! (part 1) - The Dream Girls

PART 1 OF 2​

Oh come on! Y'all didn't think I'd actually NOT post some sort of telling of the tale, did you?

#seriously?

Wait! I take that back! There was a rule about hashtags! Crap! @Ariel484 , you had the list of rules, right?

No notes to use. Just the pictures and the memories that stand out. For whatever reason there's holes here and there in my pictoral timeline. Oh well. Prob'ly better that way.

Many of the girls said things like, "What happens on the girls' cruise stays on the girls' cruise." Um, yeah. No promises on whether or not what follows is strategically edited. Chances are it is. If you want to know what really happens on the unOfficial WDWMagic Girls Cruise you'll just have to book yourself a stateroom on the next one. Needless to say, 27 ladies + 1 cruise = a hellagood time.

Part 1 of 2. This was a 2-part runaway from home for me. I decided to do these recountings in 2 pieces then link them to each other accordingly. Part 1 contains the girls cruise experience. Part 2 contains the 20th anniversary escape for me & my Sweetness. Definitely 2 vastly different trips connected by time. You can see part 2 HERE.

Also, please forgive whatever crap I post for pictures. I got a new camera a few days before I left home. I played a lot with my shots and have been experimenting heavily with editing. Oftentimes you'll see pictures taken only seconds apart that look very different. That's because in editing I'm still playing with a range of settings to find what my mind's eye enjoys. K?

With that, lets get this thing rolling!

 

[Tiggerish]

@Tiggerish , totally agreed on the cruising with other redheads. We definitely coulda been sisters! Ah! So there's pics on FB! Dang! Is there a way that non-FB people can see???

Go back a page, I nabbed the pics from FB and added them to that last post.

@jesemeca had a good idea--she suggested that we create a flickr or photobucket account where we could all dump our photos so we could all see them.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Final thoughts.

Going away from my guys was so strange. I had a great time overall. The time away definitely did this momma a lot of good.

I know the girls gave me the thank you gift, too, but I honestly didn't do all that much. Tammy was the woman who pulled it all together. She's amazing as a group organizer, travel agent, and friend. Words just don't get it sometimes. The biggest of all thank you's to @Disneyfalcon for all she did after I started up this whole mess. It was soooo amazing.

So much love and admiration for each of the incredible ladies who jumped-in and went for it in a whole new kind of adventure. I hope beyond hope that you all found something you enjoyed and felt like it was worth it. So many crazy-cool chickas. No matter what season of life we're all in individually, as women the beautiful thing is when we come together and we're one. That's the bestest. Thank you all for being part of the inaugural run. All future hoopla's will be with some idea of what's going down because WE paved the way. Remember that!

Special shout-out to @Kingdom Konsultant for hosting our welcome shin-dig and for all the thoughtful surprises. You didn't have to do that but you did and it was incredible. So THANK YOU!





I felt like I went on this total emotional journey of discovering my own little wings. Doesn't that sound odd??? I regret the downy-dumps times. I wish many more of you could've had more of the real Kelly along the way. Next time my goal is to allow myself to let go of the family and be more in each moment. I hope to spend more time with all of you. There's so many I felt like I just scratched the surface and crave the chance to really get to know more. I'm so proud and honored to call you all my friends. Thanks for tolerating my shifting moods and old-lady early sleeps. Next time I'm going to spend less time wearing myself out before leaving home so I have more stamina for rockin' the ship with y'all. This I solomnly swear to you. K?





And the biggest of all shout-outs to send, the most important of all, will always go to my beloved family for giving me such an incredible gift. There truly are not words. There'd be no bitterness or sweetness without you. You're my light and my dark, my whole entire heart. I love you forever and ever, to infinity and beyond.





Best quote ever that I found on Pinterest after I got home. Can't say it any better, really:

"One of the best feelings in the world is knowing that your presence and absence both mean something to someone."

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Go back a page, I nabbed the pics from FB and added them to that last post.

@jesemeca had a good idea--she suggested that we create a flickr or photobucket account where we could all dump our photos so we could all see them.

Thanks, Siobhan!

I think a flickr or photobucket would be a fabulous idea! If they still had albums here it'd be a good place, too.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Aaaaand, be sure to keep an eye out for Part 2 of my incredible journey. I'm just gettin' started! Definitely will be spending more time on the photo editing to improve for the next bunch. I'll post a link to the next portion once I get it started. Soon. I'll be working on it.

 

[Mrs.Skellington]

I'm sad that it's over. Really has me itching to start mine. I need to finish uploading my pictures to some form of photosharing website. I totally feel the same way as you about the family thing. I totally missed my children and my husband. I feel like 10 days away was way too long. And definitely understand the old feeling about going to bed early. I guess I'll start putting together my report sometime next week. lots to share

 

[sweetpee_1993]

There's a picture of your shift on facebook (maybe Sherry took it?), and when I first saw it, I thought, hey I don't remember being up there then...and then I realized it was you! The red hair faked me out...it's not often I get to be in the company of other redheads! I'll get a screen capture and post it here.

Edit: yup, Sherry's pictures. You're in two of them:

View attachment 35154 View attachment 35155




Oh, and the group shot came out GREAT!! Thanks for getting and sharing that one!

Oh my. Those pics are flattering. LOL! Oh well. It's gonna happen. The truth comes out! LOL!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm sad that it's over. Really has me itching to start mine. I need to finish uploading my pictures to some form of photosharing website. I totally feel the same way as you about the family thing. I totally missed my children and my husband. I feel like 10 days away was way too long. And definitely understand the old feeling about going to bed early. I guess I'll start putting together my report sometime next week. lots to share

14 days away from mine was tough. The final 2 days before I got home I was truly ready to go home. Love the getaway but just not too long.

I have thrown down the gauntlet. Who's next for the reports????? Bring it, ladies!

 

[englanddg]

My beloved crispy treats tucked in my bag. You know you can order these from room service, right???

Say whaaa? You can? Are they free?

If only I had known... I use snack credits to load up on these to give out as souvenirs for co-workers and clients after my trip.

Awesome report! I loved your photos. I dunno whatchu talkin' bout sayin' you don't have dem photography skills!

Your shots of Grand Floridian looked like they came out of a Disneyworld picture book they'd sell on the parks (awesome sky!) and you are right, that Corona / Dream shot looked like a billboard or magazine advert (though...not sure how Disney would feel about it! <grin>)

MyHiccup+ where you can schedule your inebriation up to 60 days in advance?

Seriously, it looks like ya'll had a blast. Now I wanna check out the Dream!

 

[Sans Souci]

It was such a marvelous cruise. Because I joined on at the last mo and I am new to the board, I was a bit concerned that I might feel like I didn't have a shared history with the ladies, but I didn't feel that at all. I really enjoyed myself, despite my sinus/upper respiratory thing.

This was something of a growth experience for me, too. I was away from my guys for leisure for the first time and I am very introverted, so I did step out of my comfort zone and enjoyed myself more than I had anticipated.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Say whaaa? You can? Are they free?

If only I had known... I use snack credits to load up on these to give out as souvenirs for co-workers and clients after my trip.

Awesome report! I loved your photos. I dunno whatchu talkin' bout sayin' you don't have dem photography skills!

Your shots of Grand Floridian looked like they came out of a Disneyworld picture book they'd sell on the parks (awesome sky!) and you are right, that Corona / Dream shot looked like a billboard or magazine advert (though...not sure how Disney would feel about it! <grin>)

MyHiccup+ where you can schedule your inebriation up to 60 days in advance?

Seriously, it looks like ya'll had a blast. Now I wanna check out the Dream!

Yes you can! On our Fantasy cruise in May I had to get onto Chandler because he'd call room service and ask for 20. I had to tell him he was being a glutton. So he asked for just 10. Or, he'd tell them there were 4 people who each wanted 2 and asked pretty-please. I don't know if it's okay to mention them to customs coming back thru. Maybe. They're pre-packaged. They don't perish. Right?

Thankfully, all my pics (well, not the Corona ship one) were taken with my new girl-camera (that's what Chandler calls it) in raw format. Those raw files are tucked away safe. I can pull them out, play with them, save as a new file, and always keep those originals in their complete form.

MyHiccup+. Love it. Now all we need is a bracelet and an app.

I did have a blast!

Not sure you'd come away from the Dream disappointed. Maybe. The Fantasy has some stuff the Dream doesn't. It's like they went back to the drawing board after the Dream and made some additions. Still, the subtle differences are worth a look even on a shorter sailing.

It was such a marvelous cruise. Because I joined on at the last mo and I am new to the board, I was a bit concerned that I might feel like I didn't have a shared history with the ladies, but I didn't feel that at all. I really enjoyed myself, despite my sinus/upper respiratory thing.

This was something of a growth experience for me, too. I was away from my guys for leisure for the first time and I am very introverted, so I did step out of my comfort zone and enjoyed myself more than I had anticipated.

Much like my first cruise, I had to get a little bit away from this one to really wrap my brain around it. I did have a fabulous time. I truly felt it after the fact while reflecting upon it all.

I know you all totally don't believe me but throwing myself out there with others is really an effort for me, too. Always trying to overcome my shyness. I think maybe I overcompensate sometimes. I've just always felt like such an awkward bird my whole life. That has never totally gone away.

I could tell when you started feeling better. I think it was a learning experience for us all. Didn't we all say it would be the day we left the ship before we remembered each other's names with faces??? That happened! Next time we'll just pick up where we left off and let the good times roll!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Can't believe I forgot to incorporate this!

One of the kinda odd things that brings you back to reality at the end of the cruise is waking up on the morning you're getting off the ship already back in port. Of course it's time to switch the phone back out of airplane mode. Then all your missed stuff starts flooding in. Usually I get hundreds of emails in my inbox. Yuck. But debarkation morning brought me a little surprise from my other half. When I read my messages and realized what he'd done I cried.




He thought of me every day I was away. Awwwwww.... He's definitely a keeper!

 

[plaz10]

I just want to say...I'm absolutely brining red bull and jäger on the next girls cruise. It's a done deal!

 

[Kerby626]

Love it. It was def a blast and lots of fun memories. Some I missed out but others I fell right into place.. With such a large group it is so hard to hang out with everyone and feel like you get to know them.

I didn't post much before the cruise so I went in only knowing a few people going. The rest I couldn't even tell ya screen names going.

Now after the fact between fb/instragram I am putting all the faces to name and know who everyone is finally

 

[Tiggerish]

I just want to say...I'm absolutely brining red bull and jäger on the next girls cruise. It's a done deal!

You are a bad influence. Ha! Love u anyway!

Are you ready for your wedding??

 

[Tiggerish]

I think many of us stepped out of our comfort zone...ok, maybe those of us who grew up shy did, and that includes me...this was a GREAT TIME. And I value having met and spent time with every single WDWMagic girl. Maybe because I'm a wee bit older than many of y'all, or maybe because I went to an all-girls high school, so-called "girl power" means a lot to me. Personally, I've always had an easier time befriending guys than gals, so I treasure my female friendships. And I feel like I came away from this trip with a lot of new girlfriends. WDWMagic Girls rock.

 

[plaz10]

You are a bad influence. Ha! Love u anyway!

Are you ready for your wedding??

Ok I'm just a good friend opening you guys to a new experience that is jäger bombs. you know it's out of love that I do these things!

I'm so ready to be done with wedding prep and just be married already! This week is going by so slow. Bill finally gets here tomorrow so he can calm me down a bit. Expect photos on Instagram!

 

[Tiggerish]

Ok I'm just a good friend opening you guys to a new experience that is jäger bombs. you know it's out of love that I do these things!

I'm so ready to be done with wedding prep and just be married already! This week is going by so slow. Bill finally gets here tomorrow so he can calm me down a bit. Expect photos on Instagram!

For the record, I would not do Jagerbombs with anyone other than you, @plaz10

 

[flynnibus]

I need to get my game face on.. our cruise is in like 3 weeks and I haven't done much of anything but book port excursions!

 

[ladydi]

Kelly,
Thanks for sharing your trip. It sounds wonderful. Glad to hear it may be an annual thing, I'd love to be able to join you all one day. Until then, I'll just live vicariously through your reports.
You have encouraged me to different voyages. After reading your Galveston cruise, I convinces the hubby that we needed to go to key west without the kids. Just got back and it was fabulous. Alas the Better than Sex restaurant was closed for vacation when we were there. Reason for a return trip!

 

[HakunaMatata89]

cool pics, i used to be on one of the CG boats where the cruise ships are in Canaveral, always wanted to ride one of the disney ones since they were right there just never did. Atlantis is a neat resort to visit, specially the casino.