Trip Report #tonyfromspain: A Prophet Surf ‘N Turf story

Whelp, now that the Freestyle/Greco season is over, I’ve completed my course setup for my summer class, and I’ve finished my laundry I can kick this beast off!

!!!DISCLAIMER!!!​

For those overly sensitive to satirical sass, poor spelling, and overall weak grammar then please feel free to excuse yourself now because all bets are off from here on forward… As @Zipitidoda would say, there are plenty of prophetisms to come.



Still here? Swell!



Most of the backstory can be found here How to celebrate a proper 20/40 in just 18 months.... For those suffering from krikosophobia (I’ll let you stew on that one), the long and short of it is that we’ve been planning this trip for over 18 months and we are celebrating our 20th anniversary and our 40th birthdays since they both occur this year! I have mentioned that one of us has yet to hit that milestone and the other is indeed a full 40? I can tell you who still 39 but that would just lack class…it’s me…I’m still 39 and she’s older me! ;):D Anywho, there will be some park visiting, WDWMagic member meetup, and a 7-night cruise in this TR.



Anyway, this journey starts out with a late flight out of the busiest airport in America. We worked to late afternoon and drove down the northern most Marta station. We took Marta down to ATL thinking this would not only save us money on parking, which it did, but also time since Hotlanta has some of the worst traffic, ever. Sadly, we didn’t win the “saving time” game as about half way down a train on the same track broke down causing some delays that put us at the airport less than 2 hours before our flight. We quickly checked our bags and waded through security. We had planned on having a nice sit down meal at the airport but settled for Jersey Mikes since we were now time strapped.
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Unfortunately, 24 hours prior to our flight we forgot to log into Southwest and complete precheckin and we ended up with a real late boarding group. I was legitimately concerned we would not be sitting together on this trip but thankfully we found a pair of seats together near the rear of the plane. I’ll let the DW speak to how this affected her trip. IMO this was one of the BEST flight experiences we’ve had! The head attendant seemed like he was classically trained in the Jungle Cruise Skipper arts and was VERY entertaining. There were no issues with our flight at all! We even got to see the HEA fireworks as we approached MCO! As we made our descent we were notified that it was one of the attendants birthday and a request was made for all of us to turn our flight attendant lights. We all followed the request and they then turned off the cabin lights as we all sang happy birthday to the birthday boy. He then “blew out his candles” as we all turned off the lights as he blew, a very cool experience! As we disembarked I, of course, had to get a photo with the birthday boy and his crown!
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We took the MCO monorail to the main hub and collected our bags. We were flying later than normal and I didn’t want to leave bag pickup and delivery to the Disney folks because I didn’t want to be woken up at 1am when our bags got delivered to our room. Our luggage was on the carousel quickly but I got us turned around and took a small detour before we finally made it to the DME queue:

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Thankfully they opened another line up and we were quickly waiting in our bus queue. There must have been a slew of cheer and or teen events going on this week because the DME lines were chalk full of rowdy teens and inappropriately dressed 7 year olds. Soon we were on our bus with about 12 other people but then just sat there for at least 15 minutes. We waited and waited and then, all of a sudden, a mass of teen conventioneers with a few parent chaperones walked on and filled up the remaining seats. Finally we pulled away with the notice that we would be hitting POR first before making our way to the POLY. It wasn’t long before were in the bubble! We unloaded our teen patrons and made for what should have been a short trip to the POLY but the Mouse’s road construction turned it into an almost 30 minute drive! We finally arrived at the Polynesian sometime between 11:30 and midnight!



Still to come: Our room!
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I made a quick detour to our room to pick up my contribution to the beer exchange. I wanted to make sure I brought some brew that I knew was not accessible outside of Georgia but was also something I would drink myself. Thankfully, despite living in the mountains, I live within 35 minutes of at least three different breweries so getting some local craft was not a hard feat. I’m a dark beer guy but appreciate that most crafters lose their mind over IPAs so I went with a little mix. I brought three Mighty Banyans, double IPA by Left Nut Brewery in Gainesville Ga, and three Hell’s Holler, a porter by Grumpy Old Men in Blue Ridge Ga. While not an IPA guy Banyan is one I will and do drink sorta regularly. Hell’s Holler is a nice porter with caramel notes. While HH is not my favorite it’s a brew I knew no one else there would have had.
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So heading back from the room to the atrium I was quickly reminded of what Cruise Director Christian, from the Dream, said on our very first cruise when warning of the dangers of feeding the seagulls on Cabanas’ deck; What goes in must come out. My libations were knocking at the door so I hit up one of the fancy bathrooms off the lobby.
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Ahhhhhhh, now to the exchange. So, a few months prior to the trip someone on the cruise FB page sent out an invite for a beer exchange and I was like “You had me at beer”. So after I accepted the invite I naturally asked “what is a beer exchange?” The organizer explained that basically everyone that is invited brings six craft beers that are not readily available. We would all meet with the beers and randomly chose an order then start a selecting one beer each until they are all gone, kind of like a mini beer draft. I loved this idea and had serious regrets it took six cruises for me to learn about this. I’ve since coordinated the beer exchange for our cruise in October ;). So, I was about the second or third to arrive and said some hellos and chatted up a CM who happened to be on vaca. She and I would bounce into each other several times this trip and I’m pretty sure I got her name wrong about 3 times, I’m the worst with remembering names, but she was very cool about it. Soon the organizer showed up but unfortunately his luggage, with the beer, would not be arriving for a couple hours. Apparently there were many Canadian travelers this trip that almost didn’t make it due to weather/winds delaying many of the flights leaving the maple territory. He was positive about it, though, and I saw him several times this trip enjoying himself so it didn’t take away from his Fantasy Fun. So we counted up about nine participants but a few more said they would be there but we were pushing ten minutes past the agreed upon start time so we kicked off the event.
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We started out taking turns introducing ourselves and talking about the beer we brought. It was fun and the draft was over in what felt like three minutes! Here was my initial pull
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A few of us hung out a bit chatting up Disney, cruises, and plans for the next seven days. After a few minutes two individuals packing 6-packs walked up and asked if this was the beer exchange. We broke the news to them that the exchange was over. We asked what they brought and allowed them to swap out what they had with some stuff we had. I ended up swapping one of my JDubs for a Honky Tonk, this turned out to be a great decision! I’ll review each of my selections throughout the report as I spent the next seven days knocking them out in between Castaway Cocktails and other Fantasy offerings.
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Still to come: Opening night, an unplanned WDWMagic meet, and some night time entertainment.
 

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
I made a quick detour to our room to pick up my contribution to the beer exchange. I wanted to make sure I brought some brew that I knew was not accessible outside of Georgia but was also something I would drink myself. Thankfully, despite living in the mountains, I live within 35 minutes of at least three different breweries so getting some local craft was not a hard feat. I’m a dark beer guy but appreciate that most crafters lose their mind over IPAs so I went with a little mix. I brought three Mighty Banyans, double IPA by Left Nut Brewery in Gainesville Ga, and three Hell’s Holler, a porter by Grumpy Old Men in Blue Ridge Ga. While not an IPA guy Banyan is one I will and do drink sorta regularly. Hell’s Holler is a nice porter with caramel notes. While HH is not my favorite it’s a brew I knew no one else there would have had.
View attachment 288868

So heading back from the room to the atrium I was quickly reminded of what Cruise Director Christian, from the Dream, said on our very first cruise when warning of the dangers of feeding the seagulls on Cabanas’ deck; What goes in must come out. My libations were knocking at the door so I hit up one of the fancy bathrooms off the lobby.
View attachment 288869

Ahhhhhhh, now to the exchange. So, a few months prior to the trip someone on the cruise FB page sent out an invite for a beer exchange and I was like “You had me at beer”. So after I accepted the invite I naturally asked “what is a beer exchange?” The organizer explained that basically everyone that is invited brings six craft beers that are not readily available. We would all meet with the beers and randomly chose an order then start a selecting one beer each until they are all gone, kind of like a mini beer draft. I loved this idea and had serious regrets it took six cruises for me to learn about this. I’ve since coordinated the beer exchange for our cruise in October ;). So, I was about the second or third to arrive and said some hellos and chatted up a CM who happened to be on vaca. She and I would bounce into each other several times this trip and I’m pretty sure I got her name wrong about 3 times, I’m the worst with remembering names, but she was very cool about it. Soon the organizer showed up but unfortunately his luggage, with the beer, would not be arriving for a couple hours. Apparently there were many Canadian travelers this trip that almost didn’t make it due to weather/winds delaying many of the flights leaving the maple territory. He was positive about it, though, and I saw him several times this trip enjoying himself so it didn’t take away from his Fantasy Fun. So we counted up about nine participants but a few more said they would be there but we were pushing ten minutes past the agreed upon start time so we kicked off the event.
View attachment 288870

We started out taking turns introducing ourselves and talking about the beer we brought. It was fun and the draft was over in what felt like three minutes! Here was my initial pull
View attachment 288871

A few of us hung out a bit chatting up Disney, cruises, and plans for the next seven days. After a few minutes two individuals packing 6-packs walked up and asked if this was the beer exchange. We broke the news to them that the exchange was over. We asked what they brought and allowed them to swap out what they had with some stuff we had. I ended up swapping one of my JDubs for a Honky Tonk, this turned out to be a great decision! I’ll review each of my selections throughout the report as I spent the next seven days knocking them out in between Castaway Cocktails and other Fantasy offerings.
View attachment 288872

Still to come: Opening night, an unplanned WDWMagic meet, and some night time entertainment.
J is drooling.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In a level of irony today the kid wanted to go out and do something. So when we asked where she came up with two ill conceived ideas then settled on “i dont care i just want to go somewhere”. We let fate decide. I wrote three destinations down, in differing directions, on three pieces if paper. I folded the papers up and told her to choose where we would be going. The beer gods shined down as she selcted Blue Ridge!:D

So we let her drive up and our first stop was Grumpy Old Men!
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In return for this we went to The Sweet Shoppe which, apparently, was featured on Cupcake Wars, whatever that is. Now the ladies are shopping while enjoy the Fannin Brewing Company.
 
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lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After the beer exchange we were coming up on our time for muster drill training so we made for the aft to drop off our gear before heading to our muster station. Along the way we became distracted by some cuteness. As we headed for the aft elevators on the starboard side of the ship we came across Sweet on You. This is essentially an ice cream/candy shop and for those that remember our previous Dream reports this is basically The Fantasy’s version of Vanellope’s. Not much more to say other than I took a ton of pictures here and later this trip I’ll share a visit we had here.
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lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Our muster drill station was in The Tube, the adult night club. This was a welcome change as we were inside in the AC as opposed to our previous muster drills that had us out on deck in the heat. We spent the next 20 minutes learning about what to do in an emergency. After our muster drill we went back to the adult pool for a bit. We hung out there through the sail away party. It may sound bad but the sail away party has lost its allure for us after our first cruise so we’re just fine relaxing by the pool as we sail away.

We requested, and received, the late dining rotation which meant we had until 8:30 to get ready and present ourselves for dinner, if we choose to anyway. We relaxed by the pool for a bit then decided to head back to our room to get cleaned up for first night’s show. As we made it to our room we met our stateroom host Tri, pronounced tree. Tri was from Indonesia was AWESOME! You will soon learn that his towel art skills were mediocre but his service was top notch! We finished up our introductions hit the showers and made for the Walt Disney Theater for opening night.
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Here we received an introduction to our cruise director who covered some of the things planned for us this trip. We got a few glimpses shows that would be happening in the theater as well as Buckets N Boards. I’ll be honest, when we first heard these guys would be performing this cruise I was not impressed. I’m happy to say they proved me very wrong the next night. As opening night ended we made for our room to watch the sunset before dinner.
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Still to come, Team Nashville, Team Buffalo, and some dinner!
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Along the way we became distracted by some cuteness. As we headed for the aft elevators on the starboard side of the ship we came across Sweet on You. This is essentially an ice cream/candy shop and for those that remember our previous Dream reports this is basically The Fantasy’s version of Vanellope’s. Not much more to say other than I took a ton of pictures here and later this trip I’ll share a visit we had here.

Oh, I loved the photos in Sweet on You! That's definitely my kind of place--ice cream, candy, images of Mickey and Minnie sipping a soda together, and just a very happy atmosphere. :happy: :happy:
 

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
Our muster drill station was in The Tube, the adult night club. This was a welcome change as we were inside in the AC as opposed to our previous muster drills that had us out on deck in the heat

Just another awesome benefit of the totally awesome 5E staterooms!!

And the best sunset views, too.

We’re going to have to start talking them down, lest they become less available to those of us in the know. Kinda like Il Mulino ;)
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
and just a very happy atmosphere. :happy::happy:
It really is and the portions are substantial!

We were on the Fantasy in January on Deck 9 nearly right above 8188, and you are right -there is really no need to leave the room!! Hop up to Cabanas for food and bring it back to that verandah ... total heaven.
There really isnt! Between free room service and the veranda there isnt much more that you need!

We’re going to have to start talking them down, lest they become less available to those of us in the know. Kinda like Il Mulino ;)
Hmmm, you may be right. Cant let the awesomeness out of the bag.

That room and view is to die for!! I'm hoping you have more pictures!
You know it! More to come for sure!
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Soon it was time for our first dining rotation of the trip. For those not in the know, the dining rotation is nice because you get to try different menus each night in different venues. Now on cruises greater than 3 nights you will of course repeat a venue BUT the menu is changed so you’re not left having to choose from the same menu on two nights during your cruise. As mentioned before, you can choose an early, 6:30, or late, 8:30, seating for your rotation. We prefer the late seating and chose it again for this trip. The first venue up on this cruise was Animator’s Palate.
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With it being the first night of the cruise several things happen real fast and you quickly get introduced to your dining service team that follow you each night as well as your tablemates if you share a table with others. If you’ve followed along in the past you know that we are about 50% in getting seated with other folks at dinner vs. having a table to ourselves. Tonight we learned that we would be dining with two other couples this cruise. I will refer to these two couples as Team Nashville and Team Buffalo. If you’re curious as to where they are from I feel sorry for you right now. We exchanged pleasantries when Team Buffalo said, oh yeah, you’re lostpro9het…
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I was honestly caught off guard a bit and admitted that, yes, that was I and this about the time that Team Nashville was like “what’s a lostprophet and what’s a wdwmagic?” So our first table conversion of the trip was explaining my narcissistic need to document my vacations and share them with strangers. #confusedinvtrovert. I’m pretty sure Team Nashville was still confused and they ended up asking more questions about it on future nights. I apologized to Team Buffalo as I didn’t immediately recognize their handle and this helped transition the self-absorbed conversation to something else. It was also around this time that we met our service crew and presented with our menus.
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Our drink orders were taken and we were also presented with our bread service for the evening.
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Still to come: aps, mains, and sweet endings.
 
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