Shaking Down the Fantasy and Three Encounters with a Dream!

When: March 21-26

Where: Coronado Springs for two nights and then a three night cruise on the Disney Fantasy

Why: This was a special cruise for agents from Disney Earmarked agencies. A shake down cruise if you will. It was preceded by a day of conference activities at WDW.

Here’s my cruise docs!

Who: My family came this time! If you've read any of my trip reports you know that m family can't always come. Ds is in high school, dd is in middle school and dh is in the Air Force. Not that people in the Air Force can't go on vacation, but he tends to be in really busy jobs that don't work well with the - "Hey, there's an awesome travel agent special in two weeks", or "I haven't been to Disneyland in 9 months and need to go this month to get caught back up" kind of trips.

But this one was too good to pass up! A preview cruise on the brand spanking new Disney Fantasy! Disney doesn't have any new ships in the works so this opportunity wasn't coming along again any time soon. We decided it was even worth taking the kids out of school this time.

It was. Really. No matter what their report cards say next week. :lookaroun

Even better, we had a room for 5 so ds brought a friend. You may recognize friend from my Alaska trip report this summer.

Here’s ds and friend in the Mr. and Mrs. Potato hats in Oceaneers Club:

Dd in the Oceaneer’s Club:

Dh and I heading to the beach. Check out what’s in the background!

You'll also see Pam - owner extraordinaire of Kingdom Konsultants and her family. Here’s Pam and her dh:

Here’s Pam’s dd on the right and her friend on the left:

And Missy (polymissy) who brought her hubby! They’re showing off the butter knives I was coveting:

Disclaimer – I took a lot of pictures of the Fantasy when I toured it in New York City back in February. I didn’t duplicate much, so here’s that report if you’re interested in more pictures of the ship:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=833556

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I loved your TR. It makes me really want to go on a cruise soon. It will probably be a good five years before we can get on a Disney cruise; if not longer

Thanks Princess Aurora! I hope you can make it sooner, but it will still be there if not!

Great TR! Thank you so much for sharing

Thanks for reading, Joanna!

Excellent stuff as always, Tammy....September cannot come soon enough! Heather and I are looking forward to the Fantasy even moRe now after reading this...

I'm glad I could help, Bill! You guys are going to have a wonderful honeymoon!!

So much fun to travel vicariously through you and your family. Thank you! The pictures of Castaway Cay were the best. Hopefully we can get back there some day.

I was wondering what the cruises are like for the 18-21 age group. If we go again chances are our soon to be 17 year old daughter will be over 18. Like your son she will be too old for the Vibe. I saw that they had a few planned activities for that age group but didn't know if many went to them. Her senior year is making it hard for us to plan any sort of vacation too.

That's a good question, Dakota Disney! We haven't done it yet, but from what I've read it can be a little hit or miss. They meet the first night to plan some activities, so she definitely doesn't want to miss that! Sometimes there's a real active group that does a lot, and other times there aren't many of them and they don't do much.

I'm not too worried, I know that even if we end up on a cruise without many in that age range, he'll still have tons of fun doing his own thing and doing things with us. There are lots of activities that have no age on them that he'll enjoy. Like basketball shoot outs, movies, dodgeball games, golf "tournaments" etc.

 

[Ariel484]

Thanks so much for sharing, Tammy! All of the pictures are fabulous. I love the look of the Muppet game and Animator's...so fun! :sohappy:

 

[stillgoofy]

Fabulous TR Tammy. The pictures were spectacular and as I was following your trip it made me feel like I was there. I've had a smile on my face every day since I've been reading it. Spectacular. Thanks for sharing.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

I am in loooooooooooovvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee with the Fantasy!

Excellent trip report :sohappy:

 

[Crush Dude!]

What can I say Tammy??

Once again you've written an amazing trip report!

The more of these I read the more I LOVE DCL :wave:

Thanks for bringing us along for this amazing trip on The Fantasy :wave:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thanks so much for sharing, Tammy! All of the pictures are fabulous. I love the look of the Muppet game and Animator's...so fun! :sohappy:

Thank you for reading, Shannon! The Muppets and Animators are both excellent!

Fabulous TR Tammy. The pictures were spectacular and as I was following your trip it made me feel like I was there. I've had a smile on my face every day since I've been reading it. Spectacular. Thanks for sharing.

That's so nice, Kris! Thank you for reading it all!

I am in loooooooooooovvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee with the Fantasy!

Excellent trip report :sohappy:

I don't blame you! :sohappy:

What can I say Tammy??

Once again you've written an amazing trip report!

The more of these I read the more I LOVE DCL :wave:

Thanks for bringing us along for this amazing trip on The Fantasy :wave:

Ah, thanks crush dude!! I didn't think you could love DCL any more than you do, so that's high praise!

 

[Crush Dude!]

Thank you for reading, Shannon! The Muppets and Animators are both excellent!



That's so nice, Kris! Thank you for reading it all!



I don't blame you! :sohappy:



Ah, thanks crush dude!! I didn't think you could love DCL any more than you do, so that's high praise!

Neither did I :lol::lol::lol:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Neither did I :lol::lol::lol:

:lol:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The chandelier pics to date all were intriguing and I knew there was something kinetic about it that I liked but I couldn't quite put my finger on what exactly it was that I liked.

Then there's this picture and it suddenly hit me. The outside swirls remind me of what a twirly skirt or dress looks like when you spin and the fabric starts to move with you. It's the bliss of being a girl in the moment of twirling her dress or skirt that pulls me into this thing. So strange how an inanimate object can capture that. And magnificent all at the same time.

So funny y'all had to convince Friend that although he's now seen the Dream in close proximity 3 times on just 1 short cruise, it really is special and rare. That's great!

Love that the wait staff found some excitement in the discovery of a meal your son enjoys. I'm right there with him, too. I love love loooove breakfast! It's my favorite!

Fantastic wrap-up. I can't wait to sail next month and I can't wait to sail on the Fantasy next year! Your pics are so amazing and your reports so fun. It really does make for some killer advertising. I never would've booked the Dream last year or even been tempted to try cruising if it hadn't been for your review of her preview last year. Thanks for, yet again, a great read. Totally enjoyed every moment! :wave:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

The chandelier pics to date all were intriguing and I knew there was something kinetic about it that I liked but I couldn't quite put my finger on what exactly it was that I liked.




Then there's this picture and it suddenly hit me. The outside swirls remind me of what a twirly skirt or dress looks like when you spin and the fabric starts to move with you. It's the bliss of being a girl in the moment of twirling her dress or skirt that pulls me into this thing. So strange how an inanimate object can capture that. And magnificent all at the same time.

So funny y'all had to convince Friend that although he's now seen the Dream in close proximity 3 times on just 1 short cruise, it really is special and rare. That's great!

Love that the wait staff found some excitement in the discovery of a meal your son enjoys. I'm right there with him, too. I love love loooove breakfast! It's my favorite!

Fantastic wrap-up. I can't wait to sail next month and I can't wait to sail on the Fantasy next year! Your pics are so amazing and your reports so fun. It really does make for some killer advertising. I never would've booked the Dream last year or even been tempted to try cruising if it hadn't been for your review of her preview last year. Thanks for, yet again, a great read. Totally enjoyed every moment! :wave:

That is such a wonderful way to describe the chandelier! It's perfect!

Thank you so much for reading it all, Kelly! I know it's hard for people to fully grasp how wonderful cruises are if they've never done it before so hopefully my trip reports help!

It's your turn for a trip report next!! Can't wait for it!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Thanks so much for sharing with us! That ship is beautiful!!!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thanks so much for sharing with us! That ship is beautiful!!!

Thank you for reading, Jess!

 

[DisneyJoe]

Here’s the funny thing. There were hundreds of chairs and we just randomly picked some. After we sat for a minute we realized we were right next to Disneyjoe and his family!! What are the odds that we would pick chairs right next to them? We ran into them so many times. Did I ever take a picture? No. Shame on me.

I was just as surprised!!!

Awesome photos, Tammy.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I was just as surprised!!!

Awesome photos, Tammy.

Wasn't that funny! Seriously, we didn't even see you until we were all settled! :lol:

Thanks, Joe!

 

[erstwo]

Wow! Those chandelier pictures are amazing. Now I really like the chandelier! This is an amazing perspective - thank you for sharing!

I can't remember if I posted on the Castaway Cay day or not (I've been up to my ears in baseball and ballet and baby showers. Seriously, baby showers. I haven't thrown one in years and now 3 in two months. Sadly, it left little time to read! Boo!) but I am amazed and SO TOTALLY jealous that your husband came in second. Gah. If I didn't have to take a ship out there, I'd love another chance to do it again in cooler weather. Because I totally blame my finish time on the weather. :lookaroun

I think it is so funny how your daughter photo bombs most of your food pictures. Too cute! You seem like you have the sweetest relationship with her - again, something I aspire to!

So funny about the 'once in a lifetime passing' that happened 3 times! Did they ever explain why it happened like that? Did the Dream just decide to 'buzz' the cay at CC for the fun of it because they were in the area? Or at sea that day? Will they pass each other often in the future? I would think it would make sense that they would - if they are both sailing out of Port Canaveral and they are both on their way to/ from CC, won't they pass again? Or is that a Disney no no?

I am sure I am forgetting something, but I have really enjoyed reading this trip report! I can only read the cruise reports right now, since we will be away from the parks for a pretty long time and reading any park reports will make me miss WDW way too much!

Thanks again for sharing this with us!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Wow! Those chandelier pictures are amazing. Now I really like the chandelier! This is an amazing perspective - thank you for sharing!

Isn't it pretty?! I love it too.

I can't remember if I posted on the Castaway Cay day or not (I've been up to my ears in baseball and ballet and baby showers. Seriously, baby showers. I haven't thrown one in years and now 3 in two months. Sadly, it left little time to read! Boo!) but I am amazed and SO TOTALLY jealous that your husband came in second. Gah. If I didn't have to take a ship out there, I'd love another chance to do it again in cooler weather. Because I totally blame my finish time on the weather. :lookaroun

Baby showers! Yikes! I've avoided those for a few years too. So much work!!

I think it is so funny how your daughter photo bombs most of your food pictures. Too cute! You seem like you have the sweetest relationship with her - again, something I aspire to!

It's her new favorite thing to do when I'm taking pictures. :lol:

So funny about the 'once in a lifetime passing' that happened 3 times! Did they ever explain why it happened like that? Did the Dream just decide to 'buzz' the cay at CC for the fun of it because they were in the area? Or at sea that day? Will they pass each other often in the future? I would think it would make sense that they would - if they are both sailing out of Port Canaveral and they are both on their way to/ from CC, won't they pass again? Or is that a Disney no no?

I am sure I am forgetting something, but I have really enjoyed reading this trip report! I can only read the cruise reports right now, since we will be away from the parks for a pretty long time and reading any park reports will make me miss WDW way too much!

Thanks again for sharing this with us!

They didn't ever explain it! It's definitely not a normal thing. The Fantasy was on a weird schedule since it was a 3 night cruise. The Dream was on a 5 night, so it was hanging around when it would normally be going somewhere. Since the Magic is hanging out in Florida for a few more weeks, the Magic and Fantasy have run into each other a few times. I haven't heard that the Fantasy and Dream have seen each other again though!

Thank you so much for reading it all Erin!