Trip Report Two Turkeys at WDW & Merrytime Disney Cruise November 2016

Hello! My husband and I (two turkeys) just got back from WDW & a Merrytime Disney Cruise and I thought I would share our adventures. All of you are welcome to read but I'm going to tag a few of you that I know have followed along before. (Or at least those I can remember.) I look forward to reading your reactions!


I have shared a few of our other adventures and if you are interested here are some links:

Disneyland
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/disneyland-forever-july-2016.917141/
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/back-to-disneyland-ringin-in-2016.909039/

Walt Disney World
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ts-wdw-november-2015-lots-of-pictures.907613/
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/movin-in-two-weeks-in-the-world.915373/
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/springin-into-wdw-solo-march-2016.911995/

Introduction:
Who: Me (Amy) and my husband (Brad) We are the two turkeys.
Magic Band personalization: Me: Gobble '16 and Brad Stuffing, in honor of Thanksgiving
When: November 22-November 28
Where did we stay: All Star Sports

Backstory We have wanted to do a Christmas themed cruise for awhile, and in May of 2014 I booked us on a 3 night cruise in hopes that it would match up with my school's calendar. Luckily it it did. I figured I might have to take a personal day (which I did), and we would add in some time at WDW.

The Report
Tuesday November 22:
I teach in a rural northern Wisconsin school so school for our students is off the whole week of Thanksgiving, but we have teacher inservice Monday and Tuesday. In our district we are not supposed to take off inservice days. So being the rule follower that I am yet still wanting to get maximize my WDW time I book (months ahead of time) a flight leaving at 7:10pm on Tuesday night. I figure I am golden, I don't have to break the work rules, and I'll still get to Disney on Tuesday night giving me 2 full WDW days before the cruise. Leaving on a 7pm will be perfect for traveling from work to the airport and giving me the time cushion I like to give myself at the airport. Well, Delta airlines had other plans.

About 1 1/2 month before our flight, I get an email from Delta saying they cancelled my 7pm flight and moved me to a 5pm!!!:jawdrop::mad: This was not good! If I left work for the airport without asking to leave early I would make it to the airport (if things went perfectly) when my plane would be boarding! So long story short I went and talked to my boss, fully prepared to take unpaid time and all that. And luckily he was very understanding and he said he knew that I would easily make up the time/work since I usually come in to work about 1-1 1/2 early every day anyway, and I would not have to take unpaid or personal time. (which was good because I had already designated my other personal day for a WDW in March of 2017). So now the only thing I had to worry about was weather & traffic getting to the airport.

Well, wouldn't you know it, but the weather decided that there would be a wintry mix with mostly freezing rain starting at noon the day we flew out! :jawdrop::mad: Ok, so now I'm already "breaking" the rule of leaving early, but now the roads would be treacherous. And I HATE driving in bad weather. It all made this type A girl very anxious. So my boss said I could leave even a little earlier. Luckily the weather people were somewhat wrong and it was mostly rain on the way, and stayed mostly rain. But were were at the airport now about 3 1/2 hours early. But we were there and our plane was on time. It really was time to relax now.

Minneapolis has two terminal buildings and we were flying out of the big terminal and flying back to the smaller one (with the cheaper parking). So we parked at the smaller terminal and took the light rail train to the bigger one. It is a bit of a hassle but the train came shortly after we got the to platform and away we went.

Brad at the train platform
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We are on time for take off. The plane did have to go through de-icing, as did other planes. So we were 20 minutes late in take off because of waiting for de-icing, but we only landed about 5-10 minutes late.
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The plane is here, what you can't see to well in the pictures is the sleety-rain. It made me a little nervous, but the trucks were constantly spraying de-icer on the runways.
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We landed, YAY! And since we planned to drive to the cruise port we rented a car. This was our sweet ride. As usually hubby, tried to pick up the most beat up and scratched one in the lot. His theory is that then the rental car company can't prove the scratches are from us.
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It was dark then as we drove under the sign so my picture didn't turn out clear. I got this blurr, but in a way it is kind of trippy and cool with the blur.
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We were super hungry and we thought about going to Trader Sam's or Disney Springs for something but it was a little after 11:30 pm and figured we wouldn't have much time. So we parked at the All-Star Sports and went into the food court. We probably should have went to the McDonald's. We got chicken tenders and fries and they were definitely end of the night servings (a little cold and stale). But it was sustenance and then we could go right to our room.
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A couple pictures of the decorations at the Sports. They weren't anything spectacular like a gingerbread house, but I liked them.
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Our room was really close to the main building in the Touchdown section. So we were both happy. In June we had requested to be near transport at the Music and got stuck in the Broadway section which was a bit of a hike. So we unpacked and I put up a few Christmas decorations to spirit up the room.
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So after unpacking we went to bed. We were planning to maximize our WDW with early mornings and late nights. We figured we could relax on the cruise.

Tags:
@figmentfan423 , @MinnieM123 , @JenniferS , @Tuvalu , @PacNWTigger , @Gabe1 , @betty rose , @Songbird76 , @catmom46 , @BuddyThomas , @donaldtoo , @Cesar R M , @fractal , @Mr Ferret 88 , @MouseDreaming , @PUSH, @Wrangler-Rick, @sheriffwoody, @MOXOMUMD
 

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
Next we were off to explore the kids clubs. There is an open house for the first hours of the cruise so anyone can look through. I would encourage you to check it out, even if you don't have kids, the club is pretty awesome. We wanted to play there. So here is some of our exploration in the kids clubs!

At the small world nursery
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In the oceaneer's club
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I liked how some of the pictures looked like cross-stitch. It is a hobby I enjoy.
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Brad and the Millennium Falcon
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Andy's Room was cool!
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Okay, I've got to sign off for awhile. Time to celebrate Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Omg, I want the rocket raccoon + Milano figurine!! XD
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Merry Christmas!

I would have been right there with your husband in the Millennium Falcon. Lol.

Merry Christmas to you as well. My husband still talks about the Millennium Falcon, when his sister asked him about our cruise during the Christmas get together that was the first thing he talked about. :rolleyes:;)
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Continuing on we made our way out of the kids club area, kids on these cruises are really lucky.
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floor detail
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Pepe's door, as part of the midship dectectives quest.
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Now it was time for lunch. We went to the buffett, Cabanas. I don't know if I was really hungry but the food was great!
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I could zoom in on the NASA building from our table.
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dessert (don't look at my reflection in the spoon, that is not a flattering angle!)
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Finally it was past 1:30 and we could go to our room.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
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Our room had the split bathroom, we hadn't had that on the last cruise.
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My lovely veranda
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We spent a little time in our room and on the veranda then went out to explore the ship some more. We found Palo, we were looking forward to eating brunch here the next day.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
We checked out Vallenope's Sweet Shop and there were a lot of enticing things there. Brad wanted to order something, but I was still full from lunch (and it was an added cost). However when we were looking at the gelato we were offered some free samples. I guess I had room for some free samples. Well, the cast member kept offering samples of almost everything! Which was great, but eventually we had to stop he was practically force feeding us!
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We continued to check out the adult areas, we planned to spend most of our time in these areas. First up the adult coffee lounge, Cove Cafe.
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Then the pool area, hot tub then pool.
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This was actually a new family pool feature, but we thought it looked cool.

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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Fun cups, for the Merrytime Cruise. It was a crazy drink inside, just kidding it was a Diet Coke.
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The Satellite Falls pool looked awesome on the top adults only deck. It hadn't been there on our last cruise.
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We just continued to wander.
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Yay mini-golf! We promised ourselves we would play this time. Spoiler alert...we didn't. Next time!
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And we looked in on the Skyline Lounge, this is our favorite lounge. I think it is awesome that the decor and music change and feature different cities. Paris is my favorite city featured, right @PacNWTigger !
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
We grabbed ourselves a drink somewhere and made it to watch the end of the Sailing Away party, and of course the best part when they blow the horn. It makes me cry (with happiness) every time I hear it, because of course I recorded it. Actually, I recorded it just by chance. We were watching the Sail Away party and I was thinking to myself that the song they were singing was cute and peppy so I pulled out my phone to record a bit and like 10 seconds later they did the countdown to the horn blowing and I got a great recording of the horn playing "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes".

A few shots of the sail away....
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Then we went back to the room to unpack a little and get ready for the Golden Mickey's show and dinner. We had late seating on this cruise just like last time. Next time we have 1st seating so it should be interesting to compare, and really see which one we like better. On the last cruise we had an inside cabin and didn't mind it at all, we enjoyed the magical porthole. But I LOVED having my own little balcony. So here was a view from the balcony as we were sailing away.
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The Carnival ship had left port before us so we were behind it for awhile.
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I had bought some Christmas decorations to make our room festive. I even hung a stocking outside our door even though we weren't part of a fish extender group. I did manage to sneak out of the room and put some treats for Brad in the big stocking. He thought someone else put them in there (he has since figured out it was me). But he thought it was just someone with extra treats since our neighbor was part of a fish extender group.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
We did a little shopping. This is one of the shirts I bought.
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Then we went to the Walt Disney Theater and enjoyed the Golden Mickey's show. It was my favorite from the last cruise and was still great. It ended up being the only show we saw this cruise.

No pictures were allowed during the show, so just a photo of the stage before and us before.
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I think we both look a little drugged or goofy in these pictures, but we were pretty tired actually.
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After the Golden Mickey's we headed for the atrium for the tree lighting show. And there was a nice singer in the area.
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Up next.....the tree lighting, and dinner!
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
I love the pictures!! The cruise ship is gorgeous. And I really like how you got those distance shots of the Space Center. I went there about 25 years ago--it was great. But anyway, back to your trip--what a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season on a "Merrytime" cruise ship! :joyfull:

I thought the stockings hanging up were so cute and festive. Also, I like your t-shirt you bought there.

But you must play mini-golf the next time you cruise--no more excuses--put it right at the top of your "to do" list! :p
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Here is my top tip if you are planning to take a Merrytime Cruise....don't assume that the tree lighting and other holiday shows/dance parties will happen every night. Perhaps if I had done more research before going I would have known this, but I didn't, nor did the navigator tell us that tree lighting and some other stuff would only be on one night. We almost skipped the tree lighting because we thought it was a nightly thing. Also there was a snowball thing that we went to but also almost skipped because we thought the Merrytime cruise would have this on other nights. There was another party that had the three caballeros that we did skip because we were tired and thought it would be going again, it wasn't. So in other words if there are holiday activities you see in the Navigator.. do them because it might not be available again.
Actually, I was a little disappointed there wasn't more holiday shows for a Merrytime cruise. Maybe there are more on longer cruises though.

So the tree lighting. Cute, the characters came out and music was sung and then the tree and all the garland was lit in the atrium. Sorry some of the pictures are a little blurry, those characters are constantly moving!
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Notice the guy to the right of the tree, boy doesn't he look thrilled. :rolleyes:I just noticed him.:)
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
I love the pictures!! The cruise ship is gorgeous. And I really like how you got those distance shots of the Space Center. I went there about 25 years ago--it was great. But anyway, back to your trip--what a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season on a "Merrytime" cruise ship! :joyfull:

I thought the stockings hanging up were so cute and festive. Also, I like your t-shirt you bought there.

But you must play mini-golf the next time you cruise--no more excuses--put it right at the top of your "to do" list! :p

The cruise ship is beautiful no matter the season. Mini-golf is on the list for June. We will be on a 5 night double dip, so we should have time. Although we are going as part of a podcast group, so it depends on the activities they are offering too. Plus if we never do it, that gives us a reason to keep going back!;)
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Our dinner was at the Enchanted Garden. Our server told us it is themed after the gardens of Versailles, and it is fun to watch the lighting change throughout the meal. It starts out as "daylight" and then goes through sunset. There is also a lovely fountain in the center of the restaurant.

We also met our table mates for the cruise. I can be pretty shy and nervous in new social situations, but I figure these people must be okay if they are on a Disney cruise. They are probably Disney fans and I can at least talk to them about that. We ended up sitting with 2 other couples about our age. One couple was from Michigan and another from Savannah Georgia. Even though I get a little nervous about the new situation, I don't mind sitting with other people for dinner. It is nice to have someone new to talk to about our trip and fun to learn about their experiences on the cruise and otherwise. They probably thought I was strange for taking pictures of my food, but I didn't care.
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My tomato basil soup
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Brad's lobster ravioli
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My wedge salad
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My roast (yum)
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Brad's scallops, he liked those but wasn't a big fan of the side dish.
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Good thing he had another dish, I think it was pork.
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Chocolate mousse for dessert!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Here's a couple better pictures of the Enchanted Garden.
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And our Captain! We saw him walking around sometimes, but we never talked to him.
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We headed to the atrium for the next Merrytime activity. We were too late to get our picture taken with Mickey but I thought this was a neat shot.
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We went up to the top floor of the atrium to watch the Winter Wonderland Ball.
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The show was fun, and kind of reminded me of the trolley show I had seen at Magic Kingdom earlier that day.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Of course Santa and Mrs. Clause were at the ball.
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And some Disney friends showed up as well.
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Lots of snow!
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Then back to the room for a good nights sleep! We also had a little mail on our fish to remind us of our Palo brunch!
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Oh and our bed was turned down with a towel decoration and chocolates! Ghiradelli chocolates!
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