Trip Report Our First Disney Cruise...it was "Magic"al!!

Well we are all settled back in at home, routines are in order - back to work; back to school and thank goodness for pictures on my phone that I can look at to reminisce about the wonderful trip we had (remember when you had to rush to the photo booth at your local Walgreens with your 15 rolls of film to be processed so you could finally see your pictures only to realize half on the roll weren't even good)! Our trip was amazing! From start to finish, I wouldn't change a thing and feel so blessed we were given this opportunity by my husband's parents to go on this trip.

I'm still getting my notes and pictures in order, but wanted to get this TR started to force me to do this! I've been reading so many great TR's over the last couple weeks (and trying to get to those I haven't read yet!) and wanted to join in the fun too

So for those who didn't see my very brief PTR, my husband's parents took the entire family (13 of us) on the cruise to celebrate their upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. We were on the Disney Magic from February 26th through March 3rd. We ported out of Miami and our stops were Grand Cayman and of course, Castaway Cay (which I think if we would have docked the ship there the entire five days I would have been okay with that).

I won't bring in the extended family too much as I'm not sure if they want pictures of themselves floating around on wdwmagic, so you will most likely see me (Chris), my husband (Brian) and our 14 year old daughter (Emily)!

I will get to our first day soon, but I will leave you with this photo (disclaimer - I am NOT a photographer and all of my pictures were taken on my phone, but it's the thought that counts!). Couldn't you just look at this view all day long (sorry about a shirtless Brian...but hey we were on vacation...in the sun)

 

[gdisneyfans]

So let's begin with Day 1!!

Friday, February 24th

The day has finally arrived! We are heading down to Madison to stay over to catch our early morning flight with final destination being Miami! But first, some important things need to be done before leaving for Madison….one being work! Unfortunately there was no way for Brian to get off nor was he able to get a shorter day (he works at UPS so all of his vacation days are pretty much pre-planned in November for the entire next year). Plus we were in a winter storm watch Thursday night into Friday which then turned into a winter storm warning! Snow, sleet, freezing rain, all of it. Yuck.


This was our view Thursday morning (the snowmen and deer were put away when we got home)

This was our view Friday afternoon when we left

Oh well, the joys of living in Wisconsin and traveling! Emily was lucky not to have school, so she was off to spend the day with Grandma while I was at work. My job is quite flexible, so I was able to sneak out at about 2:00 as I had a doctor's appointment (oh the joy before leaving on vacation...waiting in the doctor's office for an hour!). After my thrilling appointment, Emily and I had a more exciting appointment to get to - mani/pedi's!

Finished up with our appointments about 4:30 and then headed right home to get packed up! I talked to Brian and his day was going a little better than he had anticipated and thought he’d be home by about 5:30. Many days he's out delivering boxes until 7:00 this this was perfect! I packed mine and Brian's suitcases...Emily was packed like three weeks before we even left and we picked up the house and got it ready to be closed up for the week (I love coming home to a clean house when we get home from vacation). Brian got home shortly after 5:30, took a shower and we were on the road at 5:47…about 17 minutes later than we were hoping, but oh well!

 

[21stamps]

Following!!! Can't wait to read this!

 

[gdisneyfans]

Thank you

 

[gdisneyfans]

Friday, February 24th, cont.
The roads on the way down to Madison were terrible! The sleet and freezing rain were icing up the windshield on the truck and was making it hard for the wipers to keep up with ice buildup on the windshield. We took our time, and eventually made it to Madison at about 7:45. We hadn’t had dinner yet, so we passed our hotel to see what dining options were available in the area. We saw a bar and grill and thought that might be fun. So Tanner’s Bar and Grill it was!
The bar wasn't too busy for a Friday night so we were able to get a table right away. First up - drinks after that drive down

Their menu was great - they had a lot of great options. They had one thing on their menu called "Chicken Lips"! Emily had those

They describe them as mini chicken tenders but not nuggets? She said they were the best chicken "tenders" she's ever had. I think they had some sort of Parmesan garlic flavoring to them. Brian went with the traditional Friday Fish Fry and said it was great.

I went with the grilled fish tacos. They were awesome (it came with two, but I already ate one before remembering to take a picture). That guacamole was some of the best I've had.

Dinner was quick and great! Our hotel was just around the corner, so we had a quick drive. To give an idea how icy it was look at this tree - it was pretty...but not to drive in!

We got checked into our hotel - it was a Fairfield Inn...nothing too exciting, but it was brand new and very nice! Brian's parents and his one sister and her family were already there, so we met up with them for a bit before calling it a night.

Unfortunately they only had king beds available...so the three of us had to share one bed Oh well at least it wasn't one queen bed! There was a big hockey tournament going on so rooms were hard to come by. But it helped to not have to get up at 2:00 in the morning to drive down for our early morning flight, especially with the roads the way they were.

It was about 9:30 so we thought we should probably call it a night. Our alarm was going to go off about 4:15 so wanted to try to get a good night's sleep. I showered and got everything ready for the morning and lights out was about 10:00 p.m. We'll see how much sleep I actually got!

 

[kaitertot5249]

Great report so far! I can't wait to hear more!

Oh well, the joys of living in Wisconsin and traveling!

I live in Boston and I always get so nervous about flying out in the winter and fear that a storm will get in the way of our plans. I become a crazy person, stalking weather sites for weeks leading up to the trip (even though they're hardly ever accurate!). I'm glad that the weather wasn't an issue for you!

We'll see how much sleep I actually got!

Pre-trip excitement always keeps me from getting enough sleep no matter where I'm going. It's even worse for Disney trips!

 

[gdisneyfans]

Great report so far! I can't wait to hear more!


I live in Boston and I always get so nervous about flying out in the winter and fear that a storm will get in the way of our plans. I become a crazy person, stalking weather sites for weeks leading up to the trip (even though they're hardly ever accurate!). I'm glad that the weather wasn't an issue for you!


Pre-trip excitement always keeps me from getting enough sleep no matter where I'm going. It's even worse for Disney trips!

Thanks for following
That's why we left Saturday for Miami even though we weren't boarding the ship until Sunday...you never know what you're going to get for weather! But the weather turned out to be just fine, no delays and we even landed in Miami 20 minutes early!
Agree - but this wasn't all pre-trip excitment...it was someone laying in bed with me - I'll get to that!

 

[Sillysidewalker]

Following. I have never been on a cruise. The only one I "think" I could consider would be Disney. I am claustrophobic even being on an island makes me almost hyperventilate. I can't imagine being on a ship in the middle of the ocean. The travel piece appeals to me. Seeing all these places and relaxing while someone else does the driving.

 

[Tiggerish]

I read your pre-trip, but don't think I commented on it. My hubby and I boarded the Magic the day you got off! So I'm excited to hear about your trip.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Ah a Wisconsinite! I am from Wisconsin too, but I'm up north.
Looking forward to reading about your trip.

 

[Tuvalu]

I am so glad I live in the south!

 

[imahistorygeek]

If we had that much snow, we'd be shut down for a month!

This is Georgia and it will shut us down for a week!

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

If we had that much snow, we'd be shut down for a month!

This is Georgia and it will shut us down for a week!

That is just a light dusting I wish I had a picture but we recently had a storm with about a foot of snow (MN). That did shut us down for like a day.

 

[gdisneyfans]

Following. I have never been on a cruise. The only one I "think" I could consider would be Disney. I am claustrophobic even being on an island makes me almost hyperventilate. I can't imagine being on a ship in the middle of the ocean. The travel piece appeals to me. Seeing all these places and relaxing while someone else does the driving.

Thanks for following! I have a little fear of being in small spaces too, but it really is very spread out. And yes, you do get to see a lot of great places all in one shot depending on the length of your cruise. And a Disney cruise would be a great first one

 

[gdisneyfans]

I read your pre-trip, but don't think I commented on it. My hubby and I boarded the Magic the day you got off! So I'm excited to hear about your trip.

Small world I hope your cruise was just as much fun as we had! Will you do a trip report too?....please

 

[gdisneyfans]

Ah a Wisconsinite! I am from Wisconsin too, but I'm up north.
Looking forward to reading about your trip.

Oh nice! So you know all about this lovely weather when traveling Thanks for following!

 

[gdisneyfans]

I am so glad I live in the south!

Well, you know...when you have lived here your entire life, you kind of are just used to it....BUT there are those days that we say to ourselves, why do we live here again..especially when the wind chills are 20 below zero

 

[gdisneyfans]

Sorry, I cannot figure out how to reply to multiple posts...you can tell by my number of posts in being on here for four years that I don't know what the heck I'm doing

 

[gdisneyfans]

If we had that much snow, we'd be shut down for a month!

This is Georgia and it will shut us down for a week!

/QUOTE]
That's shorts weather for some in these parts

 

[gdisneyfans]

Saturday, February 25th

Departure Day…Miami here we come!
Remember I said we'll see how much sleep I got? Well Brian snored.....a lot!! I tried poking him from the other side of the bed to get him to stop, but it was no use So I was awake at about 3:00 a.m.! I tossed and turned, ended up looking up our flight information online to make sure our flights were on time and decided rather than flopping around in bed, I’d get up and sit on the chair and play solitaire while Emily and Brian slept. So I got out of bed about 3:45 and at 4:15 started getting ready.

Just as soon as I started getting ready, Emily’s alarm on her phone went off so the two of them got up as well. We got all packed up, checked the room over to be sure we didn’t leave anything and then met everyone down in the lobby. We were on the road by 5:11 a.m. Good thing the airport is just down the road! Check out our lovely driving conditions and the temperature outside!

We were about an hour early for our flight, thankfully the Madison airport is very small so there was no line at check-in and security was a breeze. Just as soon as we got through security, they started to board and since we were toward the back of the plane, we were boarding in no time. Our ride to Chicago:

Anxiously awaiting take-off!

But of course they had to de-ice the plane, so we were about 20 minutes late taking off, but we had a long layover in Chicago so we weren't too worried about missing our next flight. The trip to Chicago was very quick. It seemed like just as we took off, we were landing a short while later. The flight attendants didn't even bring the beverage cart out it was so quick! Our landing though... It was so bumpy! You could totally see the people sitting it front of us bouncing around because it was so bad! I mean I guess they call it the Windy City for a reason?