The weather is here...I wish you were beautiful...or something like that!

Hello again, my WDWMagic peeps! Welcome back for another installment in the many adventures of SweetPee's family!

Not gonna get too organized or crazy piecing this one together. It's against the rules after such a kicked-back journey. If you don't know us yet, check out a few of the old reports in my signature. There's more than enough there for you to get to know us.

No big who, what, when, or where's for ya this time, either. Wanna know? Read more. Sometimes you just gotta go with what you get and enjoy the ride. Hope you'll come along. The more the merrier. Let's hit the highway yet again....:wave:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I promise to respond to everyone properly as soon as I can. We're out of town for this weekend then I have to run Chandler back to Houston on Tuesday. I'm itching to get the next day covered, too. It's gonna be Nassau day and we didnt hold back. We did the thing we wanted to try most when we got off the ship that day regardless of cost.

 

[Billy6]

Awesome stuff as always, Kelly! Can't wait to read more.... Still stinks that you guys won't be on the Fantasy with us in September, but we'll make it...:animwink:

Very awesome you got to fly around Key West like that. You need to send me the info you got for Maho beach in St Maarten, I still want to go and maybe get some video and pics for Tracey.

I remember you posted about Typhoon Lagoon and asked people for their "secret spots" to set up camp for the day. We are going to TL on our June trip in a few weeks. Did you find that spot you were looking for? Was it nice? And how do you get to it? The whole family is going this year and we have never been yet, so your pictures there got me really excited about it. Can't wait:sohappy:

Thanks Kelly...anxiously awaiting the next installment of the report:wave:

 

[TakeMeThere81]

I'm following along!! I haven't started the cruise portion yet because we've got visitors at the house for Memorial Day Weekend. However, you KNOW I love all of the Disney H2O details!!! I love the water parks! I'm so glad you guys finally experienced one of them.

 

[fractal]

Don't leave us hangin'

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Okay. I have a little time while Tracey finishes setting a new door with his dad in his folks' basement apartment. I'll try to get started on the next day to give y'all something to look at. I promise I **will** come back to respond to everyone's comments. I SWEAR!!!



Saturday, May 12th was an early morning...but it wasn't a bad thing at all. We had to get up early so we could have a solid breakfast to fuel our bodies for the day to come.

Last September when we were on the Dream we didn't get off the ship in Nassau. During that trip, Tracey & I stood on one of the upper decks looking out at Atlantis in the distance and discussed how cool it would be to go check out the waterpark there someday. When we booked this cruise & knew we were going to Nassau guess what our first thought was? We're gonna see Atlantis this time!

Sooooo, we were up at 7. The wind was really kicking and the wave action was pretty good. Tracey & I love the motion of the ocean. ((No laughing from the sickos out there! :lol) If we could be on a ship, hanging off the rails, screamin' like fools, riding seas like you see on the Deadliest Catch we'd be just ducky. We're weird like that.

Before we headed out for breakfast we called Andreia, our concierge, and asked to have Palo dinner cancelled for tonight. It's Pirate Night. We want to be with our not-exactly-little pirates. Plus, as weird as it sounds, the thought of not seeing Som & I Wayan at dinner is kinda a sad thought. I'm telling you, these people become part of the family!

This morning we had time so breakfast was at Lumiere's. I loooove Lumiere's. First necessity....

My favoritest breakfast dish again. Eggs benedict? Yes, please!

Tracey & Chandler had the Express Breakfast:

I guess we still had time to kill because the next pics are up top of the views of Nassau. Where the cruise ship pier empties into town:

Town:

Not much longer and we'll be there:

Looks like we'll be having company today:

Ugh! Just to see this again with my own eyes:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

2 of my 3 favoritest guys in the whole world....and that other ship waaaaaay off in the distance:

I know it's just Nassau but it's not home so I have to take a bazillion pics!

It was almost time to meet up for our Atlantis Aquaventure in Diversions. What's my favorite waiting activity??? Y'all know the drill!

Now, I know many of you who realize how much the Atlantis Aquaventure costs to book thru DCL costs are thinking, "Either these people are made of money or they're nuts!" For the benefit of those who have never looked, I believe the Aquaventure costs like $169 per adult/person over 10 or 11 yrs. If you do the calculation, it's more than we just paid for that sea plane tour. The way we looked at it, we didn't know how many more times we'd be visiting Nassau. It's something we wanted to see and not spend forever wondering or wishing we'd done it when we had the opportunity. We *did* get a great rate on the cruise. No, we aren't made of money either. So we splurged.

For those who've read about the "cheaper" route to Atlantis by booking a room at the Comfort Suites on Paradise Island right next to Atlantis with the full access to the Aquaventure, let me tell you why I did NOT book that route. Believe me, I poured over Atlantis & all the options to get there for days. When you book the room directly thru Comfort Suites it'll quote you the best nightly rate which isn't that terrible even with taxes. I think ours was coming out to $314. When you arrive in Nassau you need to grab a cab over to the hotel. For whatever reason, from my research I was banking on like $20 each way. Not sure how I got to that number. Once you get to Comfort Suites you have to go check-in and check-out at the same time. They'll give you your wristbands and then charge you the additional fine print fees you may not have noticed in that fine print on their website when you booked the room. It's like cleaning fees, some sort of utility fees, or something like that. Even if you don't ever step a toe in those rooms you have to pay. The fees alone added up to an additional like $175 for my family of 4 (due to the ages of my boys). Don't believe they do that??? Research it. I couldn't believe it either but I researched and found where they absolutely do this and there's no skirting it. So booking thru Comfort Suites would've cost me $529. We would've had to do the walk from CS to Atlantis (a little futher than the direct drop at Atlantis). Lunch wasn't included. I knew food was pricy so once you added in the cost of lunch we were still pushing $600. Comfort Suites would've saved a little over $70 but once you're up in that realm the assurance of booking thru Disney and knowing they aren't going to leave you behind if you don't make it back on-time if there's a problem between your ship, your destination, and back to the ship becomes more worth it to just bite the bullet. So we booked direct. I don't regret it one bit, either.

We were off the ship at about 9:30.

We had to follow the flag...which had my family of whack-o's chanting "Bra-zil! Bra-zil! Bra-zil!" We did get some laughs from others nearby:

See you later, our Magic love:

Tracey said, "Look, it's the Bahamian Navy!" I laughed. Pic to show my daddy:

This is the look I got from Chandler after the military guy with the machine gun let us thru the gate:

So we loaded onto the bus that was waiting for us. Wanna go for a thrill ride?! Book an Atlantis excursion! We were flying thru traffic on the narrow streets in town zipping along, passing cars, etc. If anyone had made the mistake of stepping off a curb onto the street they'd have been toast. Of course we're all in the back of the bus with our arms in the air like idiots. :lol: And, OMG! Wanna hear something interesting?!?! Listen to Bahamian talk radio after a big election! Those guys didn't hold back talkin' about the island's dirty laundry all over the airwaves. We kept lookin' at each other wide-eyed. Even in paradise there's no escaping political BS. :lol:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

In no time we were pulling up in front of Atlantis. Now, I'm not entirely sure this was the front entrance. I suspect it was some sort of side entrance. We didn't see any check-in desks or grand lobbies. Nope. We walked in and ther were high-end shops like Gucci, etc. This is just outside the casino:

Then we had the pleasure of being paraded thru the casino. We were told not to take pics inside the casino. I wasn't impressed with this part. The boys, on the other hand, had never actually seen the inside of a casino so up-close-&-personal so they were interested in the things they saw. We didn't get far before Chandler started asking questions. "Is that a Blackjack table?" Yep. Then I pointed out the different tables, games, etc. He was interested. The boys love to play poker and Blackjack.

When we came out the other side we actually got to see some stuff more along the lines of what we were there for.

Underneath this area is where the ruins aquariums are. We had access with the Aquaventure but we didn't take the time to go down below to see.

Do you see the stingray?

Still on the long walk to get to the fun stuff:

The place is gorgeous!

We eventually got to where we were going but then my camera isn't waterproof so I had to put it away.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Quick run down for ya:

First we grabbed a locker for the bargain price of $9. No cash. You can only use credit cards. We found a group of 4 loungers near a quiet pool under 2 umbrellas and some shade trees. There was a cafe, a bar, and bathrooms nearby. A lifeguard was stationed right behind us so it was a great, safe place to set up "camp".

We hit the 2 speed slides before the crowds hit. Brian lost his sunglasses during the splashdown on the first one. They had us take off our sunglasses and hold them but I guess he forgot and let go. The lifeguard at the bottom told us they empty the splash pool/cavern every 20 minutes of objects in the bottom so he'd be able to get them back in about half an hour. Okee-dokee! Next, us old farts needed some relaxation so we hit the "lazy" river. Only it's not lazy hardly at all. The rapids made the river itself every bit as fun as Schlitterbahn/Galveston Island but the scenery was definitely prettier. Of course the boys were doing "Look at all the lazy people in the the lazy ri-vah" just like Stacy. Fun stuff!

Tracey & I returned to our chairs to take a little siesta while the boys ran off to fetch Brian's sunglasses. They were gone a bit longer than we thought they would but that was fine. It made our nap in the shade a little longer. We later found out the boys went back to do some more slides.

Found lunch at a cafe that honored the vouchers. Boy am I glad we had the vouchers. Just a burger without any sides or drinks is $10. Yikes! Lunch (burgers, fries, & refillable cokes) would've cost about $70. So glad we booked with Disney!

After lunch we wanted to try the raft ride that goes thru the shark tank. That was cool! We did it twice! We went back to the not-so-lazy river because it was just that fun. I love that the river splits and you can stay on your raft up a conveyor to the top of the Power Tower where you get to float to the beginning of the 2 water coasters. That was awesome. We tried to go back around a second time to do the 2nd coaster but where the split is Chandler got flipped out of his tube. His sunglasses went down to the bottom. When he tried to grab them the suction over the threashold into the rapids grabbed him. Down he went. Two lifeguards dove after him. Tracey had to all but pin me into our raft long enough to push us down. I just knew Chandler was going to get hurt. You aren't supposed to go thru those sections without a tube. My brother Jerry did it at Schlitterbahn in Galveston a few years ago and busted his tailbone. When we got to the other end the lifeguards were with him. They were so sweet. We apologized so many times. Chandler had his sunglasses but he did twist his bum knee (see trip report from November 2010). Scared me to death.

At that point the crowds had set in, we were kinda cooked, and Tracey & I wanted to get back to do the concierge reception at 4:15. So, at about 2:30 we started packing up to head out.

On the way out, we passed by what I'm sure would be a happy place for my boys. The arcade:

One of the best souvenirs from our trip was the backpacks Nicholi gave us after our sea plane flight:

A bit washed out but still good to have the moment:

Not sure what this is but it's colorful:

Turtle with a bum fin. Yes, Sydney, I thought of you when I took these. Reminded me of Nemo:

Very beautiful place. A day really isn't enough:

The bus back was nice. Not such a thrill ride. The driver gave us all sorts of info about our surroundings. Here's a church and cemetary:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Could you imagine having your address here on Dog Flea Alley???

Fresh off the bus:

Tracey was thoroughly aggravated we couldn't walk back thru the gates we came out of. No, you get routed thru the Festival Center Place thing (not sure of the name) where you have to pass some shops & vendors before you get to the security check to access the pier. I thought the building had some neat details:

The Bahamian Navy again:

Helloooooo beautiful!

Tracey & I showered & dressed. We took a few pics before making our way to Sessions for the reception. The boys were off and running in a flash. I don't know that they even came back to the stateroom with us at all. LOL!

We were just there!

Royal Caribbean has rock climbing walls on their ships. Well, Disney has this version:

Too bad only the maintenance crew get to have the fun!

Tracey and I were early arriving to Sessions. I made him peek to see if we could go in yet:

Golden Tickets ONLY!

We were first. There was no prize for being first, tho!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

They put on a nice little spread:

Complete with my favorite Crispy TREATS!!!

Choices choices!

Ice sculpture arrangement:

Pirate shipe made out of fruit that holds the shrimpies:

Free cocktails and the treat of champions. Lovin' my life!

Just when you think it can't get any better, Daisy shows up! But, dang! What's with my hair???

Tracey was totally entertained watching the characters returning to the Carnival ship next to us:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The reception was nice. We enjoyed it a lot. I had 3 Bahama Mamas. I ate 2 crispie treats and stashed 2 for later. My tackiness never ends. LOL!


And folks lined up to get back on the Magic:

Lots of people coming back to the ships:

Of course my nutty old man had to be up on the top to see everything going on as we prepped to sail out of Nassau:

Still lined up to get back on the Carnival ship:

On the front of the ship, I looked down & saw this little gem. I guess if the ship goes down I can help the intestigation by showing the authorities where to find what they need:

Lighthouse:

Headed out:

 

[tiaragirl]

Eee, Kelly - your TRs are so much fun because you really do put just the right amount of pictures in. Like, little caption, couple of pictures.. not little caption, OVERBOARD WITH THE PICTURES SO KENZIE DOESN'T BOTHER TO LOOK AT THEM. It's nice!

What isn't nice is the pictures of the lighthouse, because when I woke up in August on the Dreamz that is what I saw out our balcony. With Carly going to university and me going for my second degree, with different weeks off for spring break, it's not looking like we'll be seeing that lighthouse anytime soon. And Andrew is against cruises. Wah!

I'm loving the Atlantis pictures! I want to do that so bad - my grandparents took some random tour when they were in Nassau (same cruise as you took!) a few years ago - just hopped on some bus to tour Nassau with a crew of people (so out of character for them) - but they have pictures from Atlantis and they're tres awesome as well. Personally, it makes me think of the Mary Kate and Ashley movie when they were there - Holiday in the Sun. I wanna be on a Holiday in the Sun!

Sounds like you've got some busy days ahead - hang in!

 

[flynnibus]

Compare Atlantis vs typhoon lagoon. At 3x the cost, and now that you've done other major water parks, is Atlantis worth the cost?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Compare Atlantis vs typhoon lagoon. At 3x the cost, and now that you've done other major water parks, is Atlantis worth the cost?

Well, I'll do a more thorough review later but to answer your question "Is it worth the cost?" I'd have to say no...and yes. It's a LOT of money. We didn't do a fraction of what's there because we wore out early & wanted to be back for the reception. Sane people wouldn't pay that then decide not to do what they paid for. Yes it was worth it for the simple fact that now I've been there and seen it. I won't have to look over there and wonder or wish. Tracey & I both are still glad we did it. We have no regrets. It was definitely worth it to have the experience. But would we pay to do it again? Eh, maybe. Doubtful. If it was just Tracey & I without the kids on a getaway I might do it again. It's beautiful and relaxing. We'd like to see the aquariums still. Bringing the boys doubles the cost so for $675-ish, no, we wouldn't be likely to do it again. I know. I'm no help, huh? Tracey says my woman's logic makes no sense. I guarantee the chicks out there understand.

Atlantis has better slides and the river is way more fun but the story, wit, & theme don't exist. Which is worth more to you?? Both have value. Just depends. We like both.

Compare TL and Atlantis to Schlitterbahn?? Not even close! TL & Atlantis spank Schlitterbahn every day & twice on Sunday!

 

[erstwo]

Ack! So much to say! I should have taken notes like everyone else, but alas did not (on the first part ) I love the pictures of your little men so much! Especially your red headed "big" guy - makes me think of what my red headed "big" guy will look like in a few years and it makes me smile! I'm having a hard time with him growing up in grade school, I don't know how I'll survive when he's driving! Ha!

If you enjoyed Atlantis, you should go back just to stay! They are running amazing specials ALL the time now - one of my favorite sites for their specials is travelzoo.com - you should sign up for their weekly email. I don't know what flights are running to the Bahamas right now, but rooms at Atlantis can be had for a fraction of what they cost just 5 years ago. We love the Reef, but have heard good things about the Beach Tower and Coral Tower as well. As you noticed though, they don't make their money on the rooms - that casino and the food prices alone, will make them big money! But at least at the Reef you have a kitchen (but - once again- groceries are expensive!) I have to say, going to Disney has spoiled me into the 'all inclusive' thing. I hardly want to go somewhere like Atlantis anymore.

Driving in the Bahamas - if I can ever get a copy or a youtube link - you should see the cab ride back to the Dream that we had when we were in Nassua! My brother in law video taped it (he also video taped all 19 - yes NINETEEN - of us getting out of the ONE minivan that came back to get us from the church, that's a story in itself) it's a miracle we are alive! Even my sister-in-law (born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica) and my brother in law (who has lived in 3rd world countries for nearly 30 years now) were a little taken aback by the wild ride. :lookaroun :lol:

As always, beautiful pictures, beautiful trip report. Thanks for taking us inside all the 'golden ticket' events!

Carry on.............

 

[clee687]

Here I go again...wish me luck! I'm so anxious to dig into the next chapter of your family's adventure that I'm going to make it short and sweet. No rambling! Only wrote down one post # this time (38)...i forgot after the first one! So that's where we're starting from-I too do not like treadmills! I walk not run but we have this nice park with a trail around a lovely lake and I love it! The fresh air, smell of pine, woodland creatures...very inspirational. I don't get much inspiration from treadmill scenery. Unless...do the treadmills on the ships overlook the sea? I might could do that if I had to. Oh my, the breakfast bread table! Man may be unable to live by bread alone but I PROMISE you that this girly definitely could! My weakness! Very cool to see the submarine training. I am a planner/scheduler OCD nut but it is usually the unexpected treats that you have no way of scheduling or even knowing about that make the most impact for me. I would be freaking out saying I couldn't watch because that is the time I had scheduled for a nap or something! But it would be the memory that stood out most once it was all over...I'm such a dingbat!----in case you're wondering if THIS is my short n sweet w/o rambling...NOPE! I'm such a good rambler I can't stop...sorry----
I did write another post #. My notes say "Post 47-1st pic-breathless speechless". That was a super bday gift for your hubby and I'm glad Chandler faced his fear and won! My 7 year old has always been scared of EVERYTHING so we made the last year about conquering those fears one by one! And he is kicking fears butt! So I absolutely know those Mama feelings seeing them do that! I loved the pics from the air and I loved your educational tidbits even more. I always enjoy that in your reports...I learn some new things as I follow along! Never would've heard about coal floats without ya! I am from NC and all the lighthouses I've seen here are on solid? sand. Didn't realize you could plop 'em down in the water and let sharks play around them!!! About your outfits...I love the white shorts with the blue buttons. Not sure why but I have always had a thing for those two row sailor type pants. Guess it doesn't matter why, does it? I just do! I remembered and still love the pretty dress with bonus hot body. I hate it wants to fall apart on ya! My favorite is the last minute white?/off white? one! Soooooo simple and pretty! And you wore it well! I love the family pic with that dress too. It's so funny that you do so much laundry on vacation! I would've had a heart attack and died before I found out my son was watching a sunrise if that had been me. So sweet though! Your boys are great! Take a moment now to bubble up with pride-you're doing a great job! Aaaaand....I'm caught up!! Gonna submit before it disappears and get my butt to reading!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I love your pictures of Atlantis!! It's so beautiful there! It was absolutely worth what we paid for it, but we did get a great deal at Comfort Suites. I believe it was a military discount. Less then $200 for the four of us with fees.

Chase went back with a friend and his grandmother for 5 nights and they loved it again.

It is my favorite lazy river I have ever been on. Best. Ever.

And concierge reception pictures! Woot woo! That golden ticket is coming in handy!

 

[Southern_Tink]

Sweet Tea Vodka....yummo! Like you, I'm not a fan of vodka, but I'll drink sweet tea vodka any day. But, have you tried Firefly? I think it is the best brand out there. We are from South Carolina and it is distilled not too far from us in Charleston. It is good as a shot, but it is amazing mixed with lemonade or even throw a splash into sweet tea. Try it out if you haven't!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

On the road back to Texas from Alabama.... Cannot believe I forgot to tell the funniest story from Atlantis.... The title for my report was almost "Don't put your feet in the water at Atlantis!" because of this!!!

We were floating along the river when we came around a bend and happened upon a younger family of 4: dad in a double tube with his son of maybe 4 or 5 years old and mom in a double tube with an even younger little girl. The little boy was giggling and shouted towards his mom, "Don't put your feet in the water!!!! Dad just farted in it!!!!!" Tracey & I both shot our feet skyward and Tracey said, "Thanks for the tip, buddy!" The dad laughed & was a good sport but as a parent I totally know in that moment he was wishing he could get either himself or that kid to the bottom of the river. Lol! Chandler & Brian died laughing. Kids are freakin' awesome! :ROFLOL:

 

[flynnibus]

Wow. Schlitterbahn still gets so much press I figured it was closer in appeal

I'm really considering discovery cove for the next fl trip and then using the 14 day pass to hit aquatical and more