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]

We started to feel like interlopers after a while and left the teens on their own. We walked back to the family beach.

We picked some chairs in the shade and plopped down:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

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 managed to get lots of umbrella pictures though :

After a little relaxing, it was time for more ice cream! We also went to tour a cabana. They are awesome. Expensive but awesome.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Then I decided to walk around and take some pictures.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

We ran into Missy and Levi. Levi decided this coconut looked like a bikini top.

Pelican Plunge:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Look at that beautiful ship:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

We also stopped and got some snacks at Cookies. At some point after lunch they put out sandwiches, cookies, and various other snacks. We grabbed a cookie and kept walking.

We passed dd at some point who was ready to get back on so she and dh started walking back while I wandered and took pictures. About 3 minutes after they left, I realized my memory card was full!!

Shoot!

I found some shade, deleted a few and took what I could.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I walked down to the end to take a quick picture of the name. I couldn’t get too close:

Stitch was getting on before me!

I went up to the room for a shower. The boys came back about 4:30.

This was the bag they got with their excursion:

Here’s everyone coming back:

After they showered we ran upstairs so they could see the Roy suite.

Dh and I continued our Muppet caper until dinner time. Pepe’s door is a big part of the adventure. Here’s the picture I took of the door in NYC:

It doesn’t open or do anything, but several things posted on the door are clues for the adventure. If you call Pepe’s room, you can hear his joke for the day among other things. Pretty cute!

At some point before dinner they announced that the Dream was coming by towards the end of dinner!! Again? Seriously this is just getting ridiculous. Cool but ridiculous!

Next up, our last dinner!

 

[ChuckElias]

Tammy,

You are killing me with the pics of Castaway Cay. You are freaking killing me!

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Tammy,

You are killing me with the pics of Castaway Cay. You are freaking killing me!

Indeed! It's 54 and raining outside her @ work today in *ahem* Beautiful South Dakota

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Dh was in the room waiting and showed me his super cool medal. He wasn’t the winner, I believe he said he was fourth. But we’re all winners at Disney right?

Oh! I like it! We got the bib last September but not the medal. As much as I want the medal, I don't see myself running the CC5k again to get it unless it's in January or something. I thought I was going to die running in that heat.

Oh look! Dumbo is getting a bath again! So cute!

That is the coolest ever! I love all these pictures!!!

But Serenity Bay does have steak which was quite yummy.

Great info to have! Chandler is sooooo gonna get ditched for lunch on Castaway Cay!

I shall respect the sign. They need to put a warning on there warning about close proximity to raging balls o'hormones... LOL!

This was the bag they got with their excursion:

Oh boy! Brian is going to be in hog heaven getting another backpack on the teen excursion. He collects backpacks! Weird thing to collect, I know, but he's got a bunch. I think he's got 3 or 4 different Kilimanjaro Safaris ones.... Now, how to steal this from him......

It doesn’t open or do anything, but several things posted on the door are clues for the adventure. If you call Pepe’s room, you can hear his joke for the day among other things. Pretty cute!

OMG! I love it! The Muppets are so awesome!


Keep it rolling, Tammy! Havin' a blast countin' the days. Got our cruise docs today. Less than 4 weeks.....

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Tammy,

You are killing me with the pics of Castaway Cay. You are freaking killing me!

Dude!! You have got to book a last minute trip!! Florida resident rate!!

Indeed! It's 54 and raining outside her @ work today in *ahem* Beautiful South Dakota

I hear you! It's not raining here, but as I was freezing watching a soccer game a few minutes ago, I was wishing I was somewhere else!

Oh! I like it! We got the bib last September but not the medal. As much as I want the medal, I don't see myself running the CC5k again to get it unless it's in January or something. I thought I was going to die running in that heat.

I thought the medal was cool too! The heat wasn't too bad that day apparently. Not that I was running. :lookaroun

Oh look! Dumbo is getting a bath again! So cute!

Yes! I forgot to say that poor man was up there during the horn battle! He must have been dying!

That is the coolest ever! I love all these pictures!!!

So so cool.

Great info to have! Chandler is sooooo gonna get ditched for lunch on Castaway Cay!

:lol: I don't blame you!

I shall respect the sign. They need to put a warning on there warning about close proximity to raging balls o'hormones... LOL!

Excellent idea! :lol: I was worried about even being that close to the sign!

Oh boy! Brian is going to be in hog heaven getting another backpack on the teen excursion. He collects backpacks! Weird thing to collect, I know, but he's got a bunch. I think he's got 3 or 4 different Kilimanjaro Safaris ones.... Now, how to steal this from him......

I thought it was awesome that they got a backpack!

OMG! I love it! The Muppets are so awesome!

It was super cute.

Keep it rolling, Tammy! Havin' a blast countin' the days. Got our cruise docs today. Less than 4 weeks.....

Woo hoo! You are so close!! Take Chuck with you! :lol:

 

[joanna71985]

I may have said this already...but I absolutely LOVE your pictures! They are stunning. And I love the ones of the Dream and Fantasy together! That is something that I would love to see

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I may have said this already...but I absolutely LOVE your pictures! They are stunning. And I love the ones of the Dream and Fantasy together! That is something that I would love to see

Thank you, Joanna!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Finally catching up on reports!!!!

I looooove this!!!! Made me feel like I was relaxin on the ship with you. Especially nice after a stressful day at work lol

I think Castaway Cay is what I'm most excited for on our cruise! I'm not a beach person but I have always wanted to see that perfect blue water and I will be taking a million pictures of it. Oh and random question...do you think they would care if I borrowed some sand?? I ask because I used to have my friends bring me back sand from random places they went, I have some from the bahamas and Bermuda. So i want some Castaway Cay sand!!!

Pretty cool too how the Dream came by to visit the Fantasy! Can't wait to read the rest!! :sohappy:

 

[emcclay]

Tammy, this TR is just awesome! The Fantasy looks like a spectacular ship- maybe because your pictures are so beautiful! :sohappy:

It's so cool that Barbara from Shark Tank was on your cruise. How was her speech at the conference? Shark Tank is a favorite show in my house. Barbara is the only female shark I have consistently seen on the show. Must take lots to deal with all those men- especially Kevin.

I really want to go on a Disney cruise.. but my mom will NOT go on a ship. My dad would probably go, though. I'll try showing her your pictures. That may help. If I bring my dad, I can just buy my mom the pillow. The price is pretty much the cost for one person, right? :lol:

 

[callumnoad]

Loving your trip report Tammy!

WDW in the Summer but a cruise has got to be on the agenda soon

Can't wait to read more!

 

[callumnoad]

Love it!

Loving your trip report Tammy!

WDW in the Summer but a cruise has got to be on the agenda soon

Can't wait to read more!

 

[angieandtrevor]

I have been to Carnival's private island Half Moon Cay several times and each time I fall more in love with the beauty of the island and the crystal clear waters. I didn't think too many beaches could top it for me however I do think I might change my mind once I put my toes in the sand here.....WOW !!!!

 

[angieandtrevor]

I have been to Carnival's private island Half Moon Cay several times and each time I fall more in love with the beauty of the island and the crystal clear waters. I didn't think too many beaches could top it for me however I do think I might change my mind once I put my toes in the sand here.....WOW !!!!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Finally catching up on reports!!!!

I looooove this!!!! Made me feel like I was relaxin on the ship with you. Especially nice after a stressful day at work lol

I think Castaway Cay is what I'm most excited for on our cruise! I'm not a beach person but I have always wanted to see that perfect blue water and I will be taking a million pictures of it. Oh and random question...do you think they would care if I borrowed some sand?? I ask because I used to have my friends bring me back sand from random places they went, I have some from the bahamas and Bermuda. So i want some Castaway Cay sand!!!

Pretty cool too how the Dream came by to visit the Fantasy! Can't wait to read the rest!! :sohappy:

Castaway Cay is the highlight of any cruise that visits there. We're not huge beach people, we are pale skin cancer people, but we still love our days there.

They ask you to take only pictures and leave only footprints as the saying goes, but it's hard to leave an island without a little sand here and there!

It was really neat when the Dream came!

Tammy, this TR is just awesome! The Fantasy looks like a spectacular ship- maybe because your pictures are so beautiful! :sohappy:

It's so cool that Barbara from Shark Tank was on your cruise. How was her speech at the conference? Shark Tank is a favorite show in my house. Barbara is the only female shark I have consistently seen on the show. Must take lots to deal with all those men- especially Kevin.

I really want to go on a Disney cruise.. but my mom will NOT go on a ship. My dad would probably go, though. I'll try showing her your pictures. That may help. If I bring my dad, I can just buy my mom the pillow. The price is pretty much the cost for one person, right? :lol:

Thank you, emcclay!

Her speech was actually really really good. I was super impressed by her. She told some funny stories about the Shark Tank guys. She said it's very hard for her to get a word in edgewise.

Show the pictures!! Maybe it can tip them over!! The pillow may be a good compromise! Not quite the same cost but it lasts longer. :lol:

Loving your trip report Tammy!

WDW in the Summer but a cruise has got to be on the agenda soon

Can't wait to read more!

Yes! Put it on the agenda! You won't regret it!

I have been to Carnival's private island Half Moon Cay several times and each time I fall more in love with the beauty of the island and the crystal clear waters. I didn't think too many beaches could top it for me however I do think I might change my mind once I put my toes in the sand here.....WOW !!!!

I think you might!! No tendering is a big bonus too!